Shopping? No thank you!

Today is a good day. The kids finished school yesterday and are now officially on summer vacation. I am not on summer vacation. I still have three and a half difficult weeks of school left. It's a good day regardless. I always say I'd rather my kids be off than me. I'm really happy for them. For his first day of vacation, Michael was going to take a trip to the Cincinnati Zoo with his friends. However, he was called in to work at the last minute and had to cancel his plans. I am very proud of how he handled this change of plans. Not only did he willingly tell his boss he'd work (no prodding from parents necessary), he actually said he is excited to be getting so many hours at work. How grown up is that? I don't do well when fun plans are cancelled because of extra work. I applaud Michael's mature behavior (maybe more mature than his dad). He really is growing up. For Abby's first day off, she gets to go shopping with her mom. Does it get any better than shopping for a teenager? Actually, yes, it does get better. Jessi and Sveta are going to join the shopping party today. Tami gets to be with all three of her girls on a shopping spree. Please excuse me a moment while I remove my wallet from my pocket. This will probably sound strange, but I'm kind of glad to be at work today. I'd rather work than spend the day shopping (and let me tell you, that's really saying something!)